Our little guy is approach two and he is unstoppable. He has endless energy and no sense of fear. Whenever the three of us (without mom) hang out, I have to focus most of my attention on Dan and that makes me feel bad for Dao. If I keep on eye off him something would happened like falling off the playground, diving off the couch to the hardwood floor or getting his hand stuck in the elevator door. Yet he never learned his lesson.

He is starting to talk quite a bit as well. Some words he could say very clearly, but some he couldn’t. Dao was spot on whatever word he heard or said. Even when repeating something I said, Dan could not said it correctly. For example, we were looking at the book on cars last night and I said to him “tractor.” He repeated, “fucker.” I was like, “No, no, no, not that. It’s tractor.” He repeated again, “fucker.” I gave up and switched to Vietnamese.

Hoàng Thùy Linh’s newest video for “Last Time,” composed by Lưu Thiên Hương and lyrics by Thanh Bùi, is a revelation. With the art direction from the Propeller Group, Hoàng Thùy Linh sends out a strong message to her female fans.

The video starts out as Hoàng Thùy Linh being pushed against a pole with blood spots on her head. The beat kicks in as she slaps the guy back. He slams her down to the floor. She gets up and starts to sing, “Do you think you can get away with all the things that you did to me?” The word “things” is kind of blurred out. The real word there should be “shit.”

Half way into the song, the battle is on as she declares, “Now’s the time has come for you to fight / Are you ready? I am going for your life.” They rumble and kick each other’s ass. This is probably one of the most violent music video that comes out of Viet Nam. The fighting is stilted, but the choreography and the message are spot on. It’s kind of empowering to see Hoàng Thùy Linh makes this video instead of Rihanna.

If you have been following her path then you would know that Hoàng Thùy Linh is all about striking back. After the sex clip leaked online and ended her acting career, she came out with a phenomenal debut. Then her sophomore release was a flop. With this video, she’s making a coming back. At the same time, she’s showing the girls to fight back and not letting any asshole putting his hand on you. She proves that Hoàng Thùy Linh ain’t nuthin’ to fuck wit.

My branding class got canceled today. The professor had an unexpected business trip and had to be out of town. Part of me was happy because I could use the time to spend with the kids, but the other part of me was kind of missed it. I was looking forward to getting feedback on the final logo for my project.

Even though I started the graduate program in fall 2012, I was not into it until this semester. My whole goal had been to just get the paper. I worked hard, but my heart was never quite into it. The previous two semesters were quite stressful for me. I gave up the time with my family and the time to freelance to make extra money for schooling. I was also under anxiety and fear because I was clueless about graphic design and I was not sure what the program could do for me. I whined to my wife quite a bit. Although she is getting sick and tire of hearing me, she is still very supportive. Obviously I couldn’t do this without her support. I can’t thank her enough for that.

This semester things have changed for me. I put a lot of thoughts into the projects making sure that I would do something I feel passionate about. Although I am still in it for the paper, my attitude have changed. I am in it to learn. The professors are fantastic and I am really liking the classmates that I have met so far. We’re helping out each other and pushing each other forward. I could not make it through the advanced typography class in the first semester without the help of my classmates. I had no idea how to mount a poster and I had no idea how print worked.

As a part-time student, I still have a long way to go, but I no longer worried. If I can make it through the end, that’s great. If not, I am still learning so much without spending a dime. I have nothing to lose. As long as I could stay humble, keep my ego down and my mouth shut, I’ll go as far as I can and I’ll work as hard as I can. That’s my new goal.

Right off the album opener, “Chậm Lại Một Phút” (Vương Vũ), Văn Mai Hương sounds quite like Hồ Quỳnh Hương, but with less intensity and sensitivity. The track starts off with the 80s pop keyboard licks from Hoài Sa and then progresses into a powerhouse. It’s a very typical pop ballad and Văn Mai Hương does have strong enough of a voice to pull it off.

The second track, “Riêng Mình Anh Thôi” (Khác Hương), has the same structure. It has that Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey vibe, especially with the backup singers behind her. These pop ballad aren’t bad. They are just predictable and lacking the inventiveness. “Ngày Em 18” (Nguyễn Thanh Bình) has a nice r&b-hip-hop, uptempo flavor, but nothing stands out.

The only number that gives a glimpse of versatility beyond the teen-pop flavor is the bonus “Tango Trao Em.” Maybe I am just an old head who no longer has a taste for the young pop music. Still, if I have to pick out one track from the album, I would go with “Hạnh Phúc”, a duet with Tạ Quang Tháng who also wrote the song. Tạ Quang Tháng has such a rough, powerful voice. I haven’t heard a vocal like his since Nguyên Khang. If he could be guided into the right direction, I am sure he would excel. Likewise, Văn Mai Hương has the voice. She just needs to find her own path.

Jan Middendorp’s Shaping Text covers the basics of typesetting and the nuances of typography. Rich visual examples combined with engaging writing make this book a pleasure to read.

We were at Costco yesterday and Dan screamed when I didn’t let him get the books with toys that he wanted. He was sitting in the shopping cart and bawling so I went to the front of the cart to find a tissue. An Asian teenage boy came right up to Dan and did something to Dan. I couldn’t tell what he did because I was looking into the bag for something to wipe Dan’s face, but Dan stopped crying instantly. He could have smacked Dan’s face lightly or just put his hand on his mouth. I gave the kid that what-the-fuck-did-you-just-do look. As soon as he saw me staring at him, he realized he must have done something wrong. He stopped giggling and walked off sniffing new clothes on the display. I then realized that he isn’t a normal kid.

It was hysterical because Dan just sat there quiet the entire time. He didn’t scream or want the toys anymore. At the same time, it was a lesson learned. What if the kid was really screwed up and he knocked the fuck out of my kid. If I stood right by Dan, he wouldn’t had done that to him. I looked around to find the kid’s parents, but I couldn’t spot them. The incident confirmed me that you can never be too overprotective of your kids.

When Lệ Quyên experimented with sentimental ballads with the release of Khúc Tình Xưa, she gained tremendous traction. I even raved about it. Hearing her covering old tunes for the entire record was rejuvenating. Then she dropped the sequel, Khúc Tình Xưa 2, but it lost all the momentums of the first one.

With her latest release Dòng Thời Gian, she moves to romantic ballads like “Bản Tình Cuối” (Ngô Thụy Miên), “Một Mình” (Lam Phương) and “Xóm Đêm” (Phạm Đình Chương). While her vocal delivery is spot on, the musical arrangements and the interpretations are shortcoming. Other than “Mắt Biếc” (Ngô Thụy Miên), which gets a nice bossa-nova orchestration, most tracks are straightforward. Her heart-rending rendition of “Xin Còn Gọi Tên Nhau” (Trường Sa) is a successor to Le Thu’s. Nguyen Ánh 9, who made quite a few controversial statements recently regarding to singers who are fucking up his music, would approve Lệ Quyên’s rendition of “Cô Đơn” because she stays faithful to his original composition.

On one hand, the music is timeless for a reason and it doesn’t need any update. On the other hand, it feels so safe. There’s not even an oz of inventiveness in the album. Dòng Thời Gian is a classic good taste, but also just the same old shit.

In addition to covering old songs, Lệ Quyên releases Con Tim Dại Khờ simultaneously for no other reason than to keep her name in the pop game. It’s a straight trendy record that would come and go in probably a few months, if not a few weeks.

Seven out of the eight tracks aren’t even worth mentioning. The lyrics (from Duy Mạnh, Thái Thịnh, Trương Lê Sơn and Hoàng Nhã) are cheesy and the productions are just lazy. “Chôn Dấu Một Tình Yêu” (Lương Bằng Quang) is the only joint that stands out. The beat picks up a little bit with a mid-tempo r&b flavor and Hồ Ngọc Hà stole the show.

These two albums show that Lệ Quyên needs to break out of her comfort zones and take on a new challenges. Staying on the treadmill is not going to get her to the next level.

Chèo, a form of folk tradition originated from north Vietnam, is not an easy listening for the non-aficionados. As much as I appreciate its unique artform, I can’t get past a third track on a straight chèo record. The heavy accent is hard to hear and the pitch is usually a bit too high for my comfort level. Tân Nhàn recognizes these obstacles as she puts together Yếm Đào Xuống Phố. In order to bring chèo to a wider audience, especially the young demographic, she has to make the traditional music fresh and inviting. Enlisting pianist Trần Mạnh Hùng to combine chèo and jazz is a smart strategy.

Trần Mạnh Hùng has been making chèo working with jazz since Ngọc Khuê’s debut; therefore, he is not new to this east-melody-meets-west-rhythm approach. He understands the authenticity as well as the aesthetic of both worlds and he knows the marriage between the two without sacrificing one another. “Tò Vò” is a perfect illustration of how he masterfully makes the two styles work together. While Tân Nhàn’s singing is rooted in chèo, Trần Mạnh Hùng works his magic around her voice rather than changing the melody to fit jazz. As she sings, he accommodates her with bluesy touches. The beauty of “Mục Hạ Vô Nhân” is that no traditional instrumentation is used, and yet the trumpet is a sensational complement to her voice.

Yếm Đào Xuống Phố only has seven tracks and clocks in just a bit over 30 minutes, but every piece counts. From “Đường Trường Phải Chiều” to “Chèo Mở Lái Ra,” Tân Nhàn and Trần Mạnh Hùng offer a complete listening experience rather than throwing different tunes in the album and hoping something would stick. I am so glad to see Tân Nhàn puts tremendous effort in making this album. It definitely pays off. With the support of Trần Mạnh Hùng and talented musicians, Tân Nhàn reinvigorates chèo with jazz.

Made it through my second week of school. I really like the Brand Identity Design class. I already created over 50 logos for the project. The professor is tough, but his criticisms are constructive. I like the class so far even though it takes up so much time outside of class. I am back to four-hour sleep schedule as well as extra large Dunkin’ Donut coffee.

The only time I could do my homework is when my kids were asleep. I have finally come to term that there’s nothing I could do when they were awake. The weekends are even worse. After spending the whole day with them, I could hardly stay up at night to do anything. From six in the morning to ten at night, my time is devoted entirely to driving them around and doing something with them. This past weekend, we went to Roselyn Jazz Festival on Saturday and Burke Center Festival on Sunday. We sure had crazy fun, but so exhausted afterward. Unlike my sister-in-law and her husband who liked to work in the yard on the weekend, we just drove around to the mall, park or any event we could find. As long as the grass were trimmed, we spend no time at all around the house.

My wife brought up the subject of a third kid last night. She warmed me that we better make one by the end of this year or else we’re done. The clock is ticking. As much as I wanted a girl, I won’t survive if we have another boy. Cu Dan alone is a handful. I am probably going to have to stop school if we have our third.

Dan seems to like babies. He loves to point out kids who are younger than him as baby. The other day, we were driving by a restaurant he yelled, “High. High.” We were like what? He continued, “High. High. Baby. Baby.” He pointed to the kid sitting on a highchair, but he only said the word “high.”

To prove how important diacritics are in Vietnamese writing, here’s a conversation I had on Facebook that started out with a haircut, but could mean totally something else depending on how dirty your mind is:

John Smith Ban thich cat ngan hay cat dai?

Donny Truong Writing Vietnamese without “dấu” is quite dangerous.

John Smith And sometimes so confusing that it makes people ask you over and over for clarification. You answer and answer but they keep asking, asking. Cu hoi, cu hoi, cu hoi hoai! Until you get upset and want to chui lon!

Donny Truong Du roi, du roi. Dung chui lon nua.